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Hands on: Google Pixel XL review

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OUR EARLY VERDICT

Pixel XL is Google’s 5.5-inch phone that takes the top-of-the-line specs of its Pixel phone and maximizes the screen and battery life. It has a fast processor and great software, and it promises a great camera, but it’s expensive compared to a Nexus phone.

FOR

Great Android software

Newest Qualcomm processor

Newfangled VR capabilities

AGAINST

More expensive than a Nexus phone

Camera aperture is f/2.0

Design isn’t stylish or waterproof

You don’t have to shop in the big-and-tall section of stores to want the Google Pixel XL. It’s a powerful phablet at a still-reasonable size, and it’s made by Google.

This 5.5-inch Android phone is the successor to last year’s Nexus 6P, as Google is altogether ditching the affordable, developer-focused Nexus brand in favor of the Pixel XL and the smaller 5-inch Pixel.

Here’s our hands-on review of the Pixel XL

You’re getting top-of-the-line specs, but also a noticeable price bump. It has a full-metal body and 2K resolution screen, but debuts a blazing-fast Snapdragon 821 processor with 4GB of RAM inside.

Big highlights we’re testing out right now for our review is the 12.3MP camera on the back and the 8MP shooter on the front. Google says the rear camera is the best ever in a smartphone – we’ll be the judge of that. If you’re upgrading from a two-year old Android phone, the fingerprint scanner is also a big deal.

What hasn’t changed in the move to the Pixel XL moniker is that the new phone features latest version of Android: Android 7.1 Nougat. This gives the phone Google Daydream VR capabilities to rival the Samsung Gear VR.

The Google Pixel XL is sized to compete with the elegantly designed Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge (that’s the one that doesn’t explode) and iPhone 7 Plus – but does it really pack enough punch to make it onto our best phones list? Let’s find out.

Price and release date

The Google Pixel XL price is more than your average Nexus phone at launch. The official price in the US is $769. That’s just as much as an unlocked phone from almost any other manufacturer, including Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus.

Alternatively, in the US, you can buy the Google Pixel XL at Verizon and pay that price over the course of 24 months at a rate of $32 a month.

It was announced to be a Verizon exclusive, but don’t worry, that’s only for people looking for a subsidized plan. AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint users can just buy the unlocked version from the Google Store

The Google Pixel XL price in the UK is £719. Again, that’s expensive for a Google-made phone. The same goes for Australia, where the phone starts at AU$1,269.

Google is readying its new Android 7.1 phone to launch on October 20. Pre-orders begin today, October 4 in the US, UK and Australia.

Design and display

The Google Pixel XL blends together glass and metal, and it’s attractive, even if the two-toned design on the back and large front bezels aren’t as attractive as a Samsung phone. And it’s way better than the renders that leaked.

Glass makes up the top half of the back, where the fingerprint sensor and camera reside. There’s nothing on the button-free front of the phone, as Google features on-screen buttons in stock Android.

Specs

This is probably the first smartphone you’ll be able to try with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 821 processor. It’s a step ahead of the Snapdragon 820 that’s in just about every big Android phone launched in 2016.

What’s that mean for you, exactly? The new System-on-a-Chip promises better performance to the tune of a 10% increase in speed. It’s snappy from our quick testing.

It’s also helped out by the fact that there’s 4GB of RAM here, giving you a higher ceiling for opening up all sorts of intensive apps at once. The Nexus 6P had 3GB of RAM, which was the norm for 2015.

Once again, there’s no microSD card slot in the Pixel XL. That hasn’t changed in the Nexus-to-Pixel conversion. Instead, you’ll have to rely on the 32GB or 128GB of internal storage here. No, there’s no 256GB model here, either.

Camera

Don’t let the 12.3MP camera fool you in an age where other Android phone makers have 20MP camera. The Google claims that the Pixel XL camera is the best ever.

We’re heard promising claims before from Google, and while the Nexus 6P camera was good, it was still far from the best next to Samsung and LG phones in dimly light environments.

The rear camera captures larger 1.55 micron pixels and have an f/2.0 aperture, so we’re eager to test out how exactly these camera specs amount to “the best.”

On the front, there’s an 8MP front-facing camera, which is better than a lot of the 5MP selfie cameras that we’ve seen on many Androids. We’ve snapped a few selfies and it’s hard to tell the difference in a poorly lit demo room.

4K video is also here, and we’re interested to see how it turns out next to the Samsung Galaxy S7 and LG V20, since both phones feature impressive steadyshot technology. Google showed a demo of it working flawlessly, of course. Check back for camera samples in our full Google Pixel XL review.

Battery life

Impressive specs are nothing without a longevity. Luckily, the Google XL battery life is supposed to last more than a day thanks to a 3450mAh battery capacity.

That’s the same size as the Nexus 6P battery, but it’s likely to last even longer. That’s because the Google Pixel XL display is slightly smaller at 5.5 inches instead of 5.7 inches. It’s less screen to light up.

There are two more reasons the Google XL battery is likely to be better in 2016. First, the Snapdragon 821 processor should be more efficient than the Snapdragon 820 chip.

Second, and most importantly, Android Nougat features behind-the-scenes Doze 2.0 technology that better suspends needless activity while your phone is idle, on your desk or in your pocket.

We’ll run a full battery life test on the Google XL when we get a final review unit in our hands.

Early Verdict

You won’t have a rough transition between liking Nexus phones and enjoying the Google Pixel XL. It’s still the best way to enjoy the latest version of Android.

It won’t take forever to upgrade to Android 7.1 Nougat because it’s here out of the box, complete with Google Daydream VR capabilities. All future Android updates are going to debut on this phone, too.

Even better, it’s the first to the fast Snapdragon 821 processor in the Western world. The Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe didn’t come out in time to claim its “world first” title in the US and UK.

All of this makes the Pixel XL a more expensive phone – but the cost is in line with other top-tier flagship handsets. It’s just more money the a Nexus device.

But think about it, no Nexus debuted new specs and new software. Google is finally giving toward providing consumers with both on a stock Android device. That’s a big switch.

We’ll have to get used to the Pixel name and this phone’s two-toned of shiny glass and matte metal on the back, and do our best to forget about the needless bezels.

That’ll be a simple ask if the camera and battery life hold up in our forthcoming final review of the new best way to experience the latest Android has to offer.

The Nexus 6P is an excellent camera, and if the writer of this article had used one or at least researched the performance of the 6P camera, they’d realise that in terms of low light capabilities, the 6P often beat the note 7 in majority of conditions!

First in the West. Specifically explained in the paragraph that says “Even better, it’s the first to the fast Snapdragon 821 processor in the Western world. The Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe didn’t come out in time to claim its ‘world first’ title in the US and UK.”

I tested the Asus Zenfone 3 in Taipei, and it’s a nice phone, but it’s taking forever to get here.

S7 and Note 7 cameras have better low light performance still, because they have F1.7 lens which togehter with sensor combo delivers better low light and you can check that DXO review of Pixel – basically every S7 camera picture is better than Pixel one

Ara Arutyan and Sovat Oung. This is why we’re curious to see how the Note7/S7 and Google Pixel/Pixel XL perform under our strict side-by-side comparisons. Stay tuned for an in-depth review and special feature in the next two weeks (release date is Oct 20, so around then). I’m curious to see how Google handles the post processing to make up for everything. It’s a smart phone, but THAT smart?!

Looks ugly! in this day and age of lower priced premium phones, Google has tossed it’s USP out the window in favour of premium pricing. This won’t work. It’s not Samsung or iPhone and the specs don’t warrant the high pricing charged. It doesn’t bring anything extraordinary to the table. What it offers has been done and dusted by other phones. Not wasting my money

It looks really ugly, blue is the worst. The back is glaring with 2 colors and the front has 2 black spot (sensors?) that seems out of place, especially the black spot in the centre. Definitely needs a case to hide it.

Looks like I’m staying with Apple. Google can’t get away with charging premium prices for their Pixel phones like Apple and Samsung can as there’s no OIS, it’s not waterproof and for people who live their SD cards, not SD card slot either. At least with Apple I know I’m going to get more than 2 years of software updates. Looks like Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7, S7 and S7 Edge is still the best you can get on Android. Google dropped the ball with the Pixel with its boring and unimaginative design.

well thats funny cos the Pixels look a lot like iphones design. But agree would have liked microSD (S7 edge note have them and they’re fast) and water resistant. If they gonna charge as much they should have included at least one of those features. And they really need to up their bling game with those lame colors, only nice color is silver. I expect updates will continue well past 2 years, have an old nexus 4 still getting updates. Wonder whether they do wireless charging? S7 edge beats them all

It appears that they didn’t include OIS because the way they designed the camera and its software make it’s inclusion unnecessary. Until we’ve seen in depth reviews I would reserve judgment on the Pixel series. Water resistance is likely a null point as well since most phones these days are already designed to keep water out to an extent. SD cards have not been in a Google handset in years. Their inclusion is also not required and for two good reasons:

1. Google Cloud/Photos and unlimited full size storage. 2. The presence of an SD card no matter what speed class slows down Android due to it’s using system resources to access that on top of the on board memory. It literally makes android into a turtle.